It Happens to the Best of US!

One of my favorite things to do is gather a few friends together and check out restaurants we’ve never been to. I like to sample the menu, order a few of their signature drinks and take in the ambiance.

But every once in awhile I go back to those places that left their mark on me in such a positive way. La Cantina is one of those restaurants; and one of the main reasons I go there is for their chocolate martinis. For years I’ve frequented this establishment, and it’s just known among my friends that chocolate martinis are on my menu for the evening…along with their flavourful menu choices.Last Saturday night I gathered a few of my friends and we headed back to La Cantina. I could almost taste those chocolate martinis, and of course it was the first drink I ordered when we arrived.

There I sat at the bar waiting for our table, sipping on this delightful concoction…only to pull something hard and crunchy from my mouth. I looked at it, but it didn’t register what it was. But when I pulled another out of my mouth and laid it next to the first, it dawned on me. These are legs! Legs of a very big spider or worse! My girlfriend took the drink from me, which by the way was almost consumed except for the chocolate shavings at the bottom on the glass. She refused to let me look into my glass and took it directly to the bar to complain.

Yes, I had the shakes…and I thought I was going to be sick. The fact that I never actually got to see what was in the glass was a blessing and I’ll always be thankful to my friend. But my imagination was still in overdrive.

The manager came over right away and was very apologetic. I ordered quite a few shots of Tequila, making sure I could see through the glass (a little humour) and after a time, even ate some food. Regardless of what happened to me, I thought about what was happening to them…the restaurant. There are always a flipside to every coin. The ocassional “spider” is going to make it’s way into an eating establishment every once in awhile, and some unfortunate customer is going to have to experience finding it. I felt that La Cantina handled the situation professionally and handled me with kid gloves.

Needless to say, the food and drinks were on the house, and despite my harrowing experience, it was the experience of La Cantina’s professionalism and of course their great food that will have me going back again. I don’t think I’ll necessarily order the chocolate martini…and it breaks my heart…but La Cantina is still good in my books.